IT looked like a scene from the Australian film classic The Castle.
Salt-of-the-earth families and upset pensioners were gathered in Mulga Place, Macquarie Fields, last week to make a stand to protect their homes.
They have been informed by the State Government that their public housing, where many of them have lived for three decades, will be sold from under them – if they can’t afford to buy them.
It is part of a plan to reinvent the image of a suburb tarnished by the infamous 2005 riots and other social problems.
But these tenants want to know why the Government is targeting their peaceful, well-kept streets, and not the suburb’s uglier trouble spots instead.
The state MP for Macquarie Fields, Andrew McDonald, agrees and has already gone in to bat for them with the Housing Minister Matt Brown.
‘‘They’re selling the wrong houses – that’s the bottom line,’’ Dr McDonald told the Advertiser.
‘‘They are the people who are the solution, not the problem.
‘‘They are going to be part of the community that we want to create – a viable society has all ages.
‘‘I’ve spoken to the minister and said: ‘Matt, this is all about flexibility’.’’
Some residents in Mulga Place and its surrounds have lived in the same house for more than 30 years, adding improvements and making their houses ‘‘a home’’.
But they have been told that their street is one of the first to go as the Housing Department sells public houses to create a mix of public and private.
Carol and Frank Montgomery have lived in the same house for 31 years, and described the news as devastating.
‘‘Because it’s the gateway to the estate they are using the best homes to entice people into the estate,’’ she said.
‘‘This piece of area is the good people and good homes.
‘‘It would be more viable to leave the people there that they know have stable incomes – the other high turnover places are in and out within six months. Why not sell those?’’
About 15 residents filled the Montgomerys’ living room to tell of similar stories of attachment to their homes.
They likened their battle to Darryl Kerrigan’s in The Castle.
One family had recently installed $4000 worth of tiles for a daughter with an allergy, a man had scattered his wife’s ashes in the backyard, another had spent 20 years
developing his garden.
Many residents said it felt like they were being punished for taking care of their homes.
Housing Minister Matt Brown said residents who wanted to buy their houses could do so.
None of the Mulga Place residents said they could afford to do so, as they are mostly pensioners or about to retire.
State MP Dr Andrew McDonald said he had visited several concerned residents to make representations
to the minister.
When the Advertiser contacted the office of Housing Minister Matt Brown, he said the whole purpose was to strengthen – not weaken – the community.
‘‘I’m open to discussions on ways to achieve this – the door is always open,’’ he said.
‘‘Andrew McDonald is representing the views of the community, I do understand and appreciate how this can be unsettling but a vibrant community needs to have a mix of both public and private.
‘‘We’ve had advice from my advisory board as to which houses would be appropriate to sell.’’
A Housing Department spokesman said the suburb aimed to be 50 per cent private within 20 years.
‘‘These properties have been chosen as they present the best areas to establish a market for housing on the estate and as a way to achieve sales in the longer term
across the estate,’’ he said.
‘‘At this stage it’s believed most families will be able to stay in Macquarie Fields if they wish.
‘‘Sales are not expected to start until early next year and affected tenants will be given at least six months notice prior to the sale of their home.’
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